imnotahelicoptermom
Proud Parent
- Jul 4, 2024
- 3
- 2
My daughter came to me crying the other night saying that she wants to quit gym. This was the same day that she came home right after gym and said she was really excited about her new floor routine.
When I asked her why, she listed a bunch of skills for level 8 that she needs to get and that they are all "really hard and scary." She said she is afraid she won't ever get them and is angry with herself because she is so scared. Nothing happened as far as falling or anything....she just thinks she will never be able to do the skills and it's causing anxiety. She thinks that she should have all of the skills by now, which I feel is an unreasonable expectation.
This is only the second time in her 8-year career that she has done this and the first time that she woke up the next morning and didn't want to go. She had a horrible mental block with her back walkover on beam that lasted months (that she obviously overcame with time).
We are meeting with her coach this coming week after he returns from an overseas vacation to talk about this.
In the meantime, I'm having a difficult time trying to be a supportive gym mom. I feel like I could really use another gym mom to have coffee with so that I can talk about it. My daughter is almost 13 and her hormones are all over the place. She also recently had a huge growth spurt that affected her body awareness.
I need advice, tips, resources - anything to help me be the gym mom she needs me to be. I have always said that I would not force her to stay in gymnastics, but I also don't want her to throw in the towel on a whim when her head got the best of her. I've gone through puberty with my other daughters, but none of them were gymnasts! This is a whole new ballgame for me. I often think I'm the one who is crazy. LOL.
When I asked her why, she listed a bunch of skills for level 8 that she needs to get and that they are all "really hard and scary." She said she is afraid she won't ever get them and is angry with herself because she is so scared. Nothing happened as far as falling or anything....she just thinks she will never be able to do the skills and it's causing anxiety. She thinks that she should have all of the skills by now, which I feel is an unreasonable expectation.
This is only the second time in her 8-year career that she has done this and the first time that she woke up the next morning and didn't want to go. She had a horrible mental block with her back walkover on beam that lasted months (that she obviously overcame with time).
We are meeting with her coach this coming week after he returns from an overseas vacation to talk about this.
In the meantime, I'm having a difficult time trying to be a supportive gym mom. I feel like I could really use another gym mom to have coffee with so that I can talk about it. My daughter is almost 13 and her hormones are all over the place. She also recently had a huge growth spurt that affected her body awareness.
I need advice, tips, resources - anything to help me be the gym mom she needs me to be. I have always said that I would not force her to stay in gymnastics, but I also don't want her to throw in the towel on a whim when her head got the best of her. I've gone through puberty with my other daughters, but none of them were gymnasts! This is a whole new ballgame for me. I often think I'm the one who is crazy. LOL.